back up software

[MargieGJ]

I'm new to LR. I'm sure this has been addressed in the past, but I can't find more than a casual mention of back up software. I've copied all my photos to a large external hard drive as I've created my main catalog and need to decide on a back up plan. I think I'd like to use a cloud storage plan and I'm not opposed to paying a modest fee. I've looked at a number of them, but the choices are overwhelming.

I use an iMac and a MacBook Pro, along with an iPad and iPhone. My plan is to continue to use iCloud for photos that I want to share to all my devices, but will use a separate plan to back up the external hard drive. Ideally, I'd like to use OneDrive, because I have a ton of storage space but have been told that drag and drop is the only way to do that...obviously not practical with 1000s of photos.

What plans do you like for backing up photos?

 

[ge0kas]

Hello, I use CrashPlan Unlimited and Amazon Drive Unlimited for backing up all of my data that are already backed up in my Synology NAS. Note that there is no need for a PC to run the backup software, it can run inside the NAS. The software is called Hyper Backup and it can compress the data as well as encrypt before sending. Last but not least it makes versioning, a very useful feature

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[clee01l]

I'm new to LR. I'm sure this has been addressed in the past, but I can't find more than a casual mention of back up software. I've copied all my photos to a large external hard drive as I've created my main catalog and need to decide on a back up plan. I think I'd like to use a cloud storage plan and I'm not opposed to paying a modest fee. I've looked at a number of them, but the choices are overwhelming.

I use an iMac and a MacBook Pro, along with an iPad and iPhone. My plan is to continue to use iCloud for photos that I want to share to all my devices, but will use a separate plan to back up the external hard drive. Ideally, I'd like to use OneDrive, because I have a ton of storage space but have been told that drag and drop is the only way to do that...obviously not practical with 1000s of photos.

What plans do you like for backing up photos?

Welcome to the forum. You already have all the backup software that you need. TimeMachine comes with MacOS and all you need is an EHD to dedicate as the target backup device. You can get fancy and get a TimeCapsule that sits on your network. It is an Apple NAS dedicated to TimeMachine and can be used to backup both the iMac and MBP And there are other NAS devices that can host a Time Machine backup.

For Cloud Backup Services, I recommend CrashPlan. It is $60/yr for unlimited backup for one machine. I use both TimeMachine and CrashPlan. Crashplan will take several weeks for the initial backup of your iMac or MacBookPro. With two computers, you might want the "Family plan" It can be used on up to three machines. I have this because I have an iMac and a MBP and my wife has a Microsoft Surface Pro

 

[davidedric]

I also use CrashPlan, which runs unobtrusively in the background.

I would just add that it's a very good idea to make sure that you know how to retrieve files, and perhaps try it out with one or two, before you need to do it for real.

Dave

 

[Jack Henry]

How long do these cloud backup systems take to create the initial backup and then later do a restore?

 

[davidedric]

I'm afraid it depends entirely on the speed of your connection, and how much you want to back up and restore.

In my case, with a 500kbps upload, around half a terabyte took about four months, but that didn't matter because it just chuntered along in the background.

Dave

 

[Jack Henry]

Wow...... What would be the time required for a full restore?

 

[Roelof Moorlag]

Wow...... What would be the time required for a full restore?

Download is often quicker than upload but i hope i have never to find out how long it realy takes...(my upload to crashplan is still running)

 

[clee01l]

Wow...... What would be the time required for a full restore?

CrashPlan used to offer to send you a HDD with your data shipped to you for a fee. I can't find this option on their site but they may still do this. You can also backup (for free) to a local drive. My crash plan is backed up both locally and to CrashPlan's cloud. I pay for CrashPlan's cloud back up for disaster recovery (fire, flood or pestilence) that might destroy my home including all computers and back up drives.

 

[ge0kas]

About CrashPlan:
Sending in your hard drive for speeding the initial backup (Seeding service) has been stopped.
I am trying to upload my local backup to their servers via a friend's fast internet connection, is this even possible (via a web uploader or smth)?

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[Victoria Bampton]

Wow...... What would be the time required for a full restore?

Like Cletus, I'd only suggest online backup as an additional backup for disaster recovery, and still keep a local backup on site.

 

[ge0kas]

I am thinking of giving up CrashPlan for the favor of Amazon Drive.
They answered that I can't send them my backup via postal mail not via another computer with fast internet.
I now found Hyper Backup inside my Synology NAS works perfectly with Amazon Drive, compressing & encrypting everything beforehand. Also you can upload your backup via web page and link it later to your nas

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[Victoria Bampton]

I now found Hyper Backup inside my Synology NAS works perfectly with Amazon Drive, compressing & encrypting everything beforehand. Also you can upload your backup via web page and link it later to your nas

Good to know, thanks for sharing!

 

[Roelof Moorlag]

Does someone knows Jottacloud?

 

[Jack Henry]

Amazon are killing off the 'Unlimited' storage options.

This is the problem with cloud storage. Become dependent on it, and you are at their mercy. (same with subscription models of software)

 

[DGStinner]

Amazon are killing off the 'Unlimited' storage options.

This is the problem with cloud storage. Become dependent on it, and you are at their mercy. (same with subscription models of software)

Amazon Prime members still get unlimited storage. For $100/yr you get 2 day shipping, Amazon Prime video and music, and unlimited storage.

 

[ge0kas]

Amazon Prime members still get unlimited storage. For $100/yr you get 2 day shipping, Amazon Prime video and music, and unlimited storage.

Isn't this only for photos?
My software compresses and encrypts photos before sending so they're not photos anymore, just huge chunks of data.

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[DGStinner]

Isn't this only for photos?
My software compresses and encrypts photos before sending so they're not photos anymore, just huge chunks of data.

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I just verified and yes, the unlimited storage is just for photos.

 

[rob211]

Yeah, "unlimited" always seems to imply some issues, whether it be storage, cell data transfer, whatever. But as far as being at their "mercy" it's no different than any other service. They might raise prices, as Amazon is essentially doing, but it's not like your data is gone. I just stopped paying (although I was nowhere near their "unlimited" (duh) and I would have had to downgrade to $12/yr for 100GB. Meanwhile my amounts over 5GB stay there and I have 180 days to move it (actually I'll just let them delete it).

I found other sources for online storage I like better than Amazon Drive, like Amazon S3. But YMMV.

I also think their photo storage stinks. They only do a couple of raw formats, and if you convert to DNG (cuz then it's free) it handles the DNGs really badly, with tiny previews. Ugh.

Another consideration for cloud backup is security. Where it is can determine who can get it: Trump, May, Trudeau, Cook, Bezos, etc. So look over those terms and the law of the jurisdiction where it's at, and their encryption and privacy policies carefully.